Electronic device and temperature modulation method thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic device and a temperature modulation method are disclosed herein. The electronic device includes a system body, a heat pipe module, a fan module, an orientation sensor, a temperature sensor and a control module. The system body includes an electronic component. The heat pipe module is connected to the electronic component. The fan module is installed in the system body. The orientation sensor can detect an orientation of the system body and output an orientation-sensing signal based on the orientation. The temperature sensor can detect a temperature of the heat pipe module and output a temperature-sensing signal based on the temperature. The control module can control rotation of the fan module according to at least one of the orientation-sensing signal and the temperature-sensing signal.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 100135548, filed Sep. 30, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to electronic technology and an application of the same, and more particularly, an electronic device and a method of temperature modulation for the electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, with progress in computer science, the speed of computers has been continually increasing. To prevent electronic components inside a computer from overheating and temporarily or permanently failing, heat dissipation for electronic components inside the computer has become very important.

For example, a central processing unit (CPU) for a computer generates considerable heat during high-speed operation. When the temperature of the CPU exceeds a threshold temperature, this may possibly cause operation errors of the CPU or make the CPU temporary fail, and as a result crash the computer. Moreover, when the temperature of the CPU far exceeds the threshold temperature, this may damage the transistors inside the CPU and thereby cause the CPU to permanently fail.

A typical computer cools down the CPU on the motherboard using a heat dissipation module. The heat dissipation module includes a fan, a heat pipe and a cooling fin. Performance degradation of the heat pipe may result due to a change in orientation. When the heat pipe is disposed in a portable or a hand-held device, such as a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smart mobile phone, etc., the performance degradation of the heat pipe is serious because the orientation of the portable or hand-held device may be changed to one that does not result in optimal operation of the heat pipe.

In view of foregoing, there is an urgent need in the related field to provide a mechanism for solving heat conduction efficiency decay.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the present invention or delineate the scope of the present invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The present disclosure provides an electronic device and a temperature modulation method thereof that prevent degradation in heat dissipation performance.

Hence, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic device. The electronic device includes a system body, a heat pipe module, a fan module, an orientation sensor, a temperature sensor and a control module. The system body includes an electronic component. The heat pipe module is connected to the electronic component. The fan module is disposed in the system body. The orientation sensor is configured to detect the orientation of the system body and output an orientation-sensing signal based on the orientation. The temperature sensor is configured to detect the temperature of the heat pipe module and output a temperature-sensing signal based on the temperature. The control module is configured to control the rotation of the fan module according to at least one of the orientation-sensing signal and the temperature-sensing signal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system body includes a casing, and the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening disposed on two adjacent sides of the casing respectively. When the first air opening is higher than the second air opening, the control module controls the fan module to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening acts as an air outlet vent. On the other hand, when the second air opening is higher than the first air opening, the control module controls the fan module to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the first air opening acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening acts as an air outlet vent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system body includes a casing, in which the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening on two opposite sides. The heat pipe module includes a first heat pipe and a second heat pipe which respectively extend from two sides of the electronic component to the first air opening and the second air opening. The fan module includes a first fan and a second fan adjacent to the first air opening and the second air opening respectively. When the casing is turned such that the first air opening is higher than the second air opening, the control module controls the rotational speed of the first fan and the rotational speed of the second fan according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system body includes a casing, and the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening on two opposite sides. The heat pipe module includes a first heat pipe and a second heat pipe respectively extending from two sides of the electronic component to the first air opening and the second air opening. The fan module includes a first fan and a second fan adjacent to the first air opening and the second air opening respectively. When the first air opening is higher than the second air opening and the temperature of the first heat pipe higher than a temperature standard is detected, the temperature sensor outputs the temperature-sensing signal and the control module controls the rotational speed of the first fan and the rotational speed of the second fan according to the temperature-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system body further includes a base and a panel pivoted to the base. Two adjacent sides of the base have two air openings adjacent to the fan module. Air flows through the two air openings in a first airflow direction when the fan module operates. When the panel is away from or approaches the base, the control module changes the rotational direction of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal so that air flows through the two air openings in a second airflow direction opposite to the first airflow direction.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a temperature modulation method applied to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a system body, a heat pipe module connected to the system body, and a fan module disposed in the system body. The temperature modulation method includes detecting the orientation of the system body and generating an orientation-sensing signal based on the orientation, detecting the temperature of the heat pipe module and generating a temperature-sensing signal based on the temperature, and controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal or the temperature-sensing signal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling the rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal includes, when a first air opening of the system body is higher than a second air opening of the system body, the control module controlling the fan module to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening acts as an air outlet vent. On the other hand, when the second air opening is higher than the first air opening, the control module controls the fan module to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal such that the first air opening acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening acts as an air outlet vent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal includes, when the system body is turned such that a first air opening of the system body is higher than a second air opening of the system body, controlling the rotational speed of a first fan of the fan module adjacent to the first air opening to be higher than the rotational speed of a second fan of the fan module adjacent to the second air opening.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the temperature-sensing signal includes, when a first air opening of the system body adjacent to a heat pipe of the heat pipe module is higher than a second air opening of the system body adjacent of the heat pipe, and the temperature of the heat pipe is higher than a temperature standard is detected, the control module controlling the rotational speed of a first fan of the fan module and the rotational speed of a second fan of the fan module according to the temperature-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan adjacent to the heat pipe is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan away from the heat pipe.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system body includes a base and a panel pivoted to the base, and the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal includes controlling the fan module to rotate in a first rotational direction according to the orientation-sensing signal such that a first air opening acts as an air intake vent and a second air opening acts as an air outlet vent, and controlling the fan module to rotate in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction according to the orientation-sensing signal such that the second air opening acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening acts as an air outlet vent.

In summary, the embodiments of present invention utilize at least one of two different sensors, i.e., the orientation sensor and the temperature sensor, to generate output signals based on different conditions of the system body. The control module controls the rotation of the fan module according to the output signals, such that the heat dissipation performance and the stability of the system can be improved and ensured in different use conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2B is another block diagram of the electronic device of shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3B is another block diagram of the electronic device of shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure, in which some elements of the electronic device are shown in block diagram form therewithin;

FIG. 4B is another perspective view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a temperature modulation method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to attain a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise” or comprising,” “include” or “including,” “have” or “having,” “contain” or “containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In practice, the electronic device 100 may be a portable electronic device, such as a smart mobile phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA), a laptop computer, a tablet computer or other similar device.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device 100 may include a system body 110, a heat pipe module 120, a fin module 125, a fan module 130, an orientation sensor 140, a temperature sensor 150 and a control module 160. The system body 110 includes an electronic component 170. The heat pipe module 120 is connected to the electronic component 170. The fin module 125 is adjacent to the fan module 130 and is connected to the heat pipe module 120. The fan module 130 is disposed in the system body 110. The temperature sensor 150 is connected to the heat pipe module 120. The control module 160 is connected to the fan module 130, the orientation sensor 140 and the temperature sensor 150.

When the electronic component 170 is operating (for example, processing data), considerable heat is generated, and this heat negatively affects the processing speed of the electronic component 170 and causes many problems. Therefore, heat dissipation components, such as the heat pipe module 120, the fin module 125 and the fan module 130 are installed. Liquid, for example water, contained inside the heat pipe module 120 can transfer the heat generated by the electronic component 170 to the fin module 125, and the heat can therefore be dissipated by convection through the fan module 130 adjacent to the fin module 125. In practice, the electronic component 170 can be a CPU or other similar component. The heat pipe module 120 can include one or more heat pipes. The fin module 125 can be one or more fins. The fan module 130 can include one or more fans.

In a portable or hand-held electronic device, the heat dissipation performance is affected by the orientation of the system body 110. For example, the system body 110 can be upright or flat. Therefore, through use of the orientation sensor 140 connected to the system body 110, the orientation of the system body 110 can be detected (i.e., whether the system body 110 is upright or flat currently and whether the orientation of the system body 110 has changed). Also, an orientation-sensing signal can be outputted to the control module 160 based on the orientation of the system body 110.

The control module 160 is configured to control operation of the fan module 130 according to the orientation-sensing signal, such as changing the rotational direction or the rotational speed of the fan module 130, to prevent degradation in heat dissipation performance. The orientation sensor 140 is configured to detect the orientation of the system body 110 and can be disposed on a certain portion of the system body 110 where the orientation of this portion might be changed, such as a monitor of a laptop computer, a system body of a smart mobile phone or a system body of a tablet computer. In practice, the orientation sensor 140 can be a gyroscope, a G-sensor or another similar sensor, and the control module 160 can be an embedded controller (EC). It is noted that the orientation sensor 140 and the control module 160 are not limited to the embodiment disclosed above, and both of these elements can be replaced by other components with the same functions.

It is noted that degradation in heat dissipation performance can also be prevented through utilization of the temperature sensor 150. The temperature sensor 150 is configured to detect the temperature of the heat pipe module 120 and output a temperature-sensing signal to the control module 160 based on the detected temperature. The control module 160 controls the rotation of the fan module 130 according to the temperature-sensing signal. In practice, the temperature sensor 150 can be a thermocouple sensor, but is not limited to this kind of sensor.

In the foregoing description, the reason for utilizing two different sensors 140, 150 is to control the fan module 130 under different situations. If a user changes the orientation of the system body 110 during operation, then the orientation sensor 140 would be helpful, while if the user maintains the orientation of the system body 110 during operation, the temperature sensor 150 can help to avoid degradation in heat dissipation performance where the temperature of the heat pipe module 120 is increased in a state where the orientation of the system body 110 is unchanged. Moreover, if one of the sensors 140, 150 fails, the other sensor 140 or 150 may ensure that a high level of heat dissipation performance is maintained to avoid overheating of the system and the system instability that may result.

It is noted that the control module 160 can operate using a program to control rotation of the fan module 130 according to the temperature-sensing signal and the orientation-sensing signal. For example, the program may written such that a standard temperature is set as 120° C., and when the temperature of the heat pipe module 120 is 130° C., the control module 160 increases the rotational speed of the fan module 130 to thereby improve the heat dissipation performance. A person skilled in the art may design the program in accordance with various requirements to control the heat dissipation performance. The embodiments of the electronic device 100 will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is another block diagram of the electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 2A. A description of aspects of the electronic device 100 identical to those of the electronic device 100 described with reference to FIG. 1 will not be repeated herein. The system body 110 includes a casing 200, and the casing 200 has a first air opening 210 and a second air opening 212 separately disposed on two adjacent sides of the casing 200. The heat pipe module 120 includes a heat pipe 220 and a heat pipe 222 which are separately disposed adjacent to two sides of the electronic component 170. The fan module 130 is disposed between the heat pipe 220 and the heat pipe 222. The fin modules 125 are separately adjacent to the first air opening 210 and the second air opening 212.

It is noted that the disposition of the first heat pipe 220 and the second heat pipe 222 in the drawings, in which the heat pipes 220, 222 are disposed on two opposite sides of the electronic component 170, is just an example and the invention should not be limited to such a configuration. The heat pipes 220, 222 may be disposed on two different sides of the electronic component 170 or disposed corresponding to the fan module 130. Also, there is no limitation with respect to the disposition of the fan module 130, which can be disposed in an axial-flow arrangement, a diagonal-flow arrangement, etc.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the system body 110 is oriented such that the height of the first air opening 210 is higher than the height of the second air opening 212 relative to the ground surface (as shown in FIG. 2A), the control module 160 controls the fan module 130 to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening 212 acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening 210 act as an air outlet vent. The first direction can be a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, and the rotational direction in FIG. 2A is just an example and should not be limited to the direction indicated in this drawing.

When the orientation of the system body 110 is changed (as shown in FIG. 2B) such that the second air opening 212 is higher than the first air opening 210 relative to the ground surface, the control module 160 controls the fan module 130 to rotate in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the first air opening 210 acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening 212 acts as an air outlet vent. Hence, in some embodiments, the control module 160 performs control such that the air opening 210 or 212 that is higher always acts as the air outlet vent to avoid a situation where the air blown out from the air opening blows toward a user and causes discomfort. In addition, the second direction can be clockwise or counterclockwise. For example, if the first direction is counterclockwise then the second direction will be clockwise and vice versa. The orientation of the system body 110 in FIG. 2B is just an example and the invention should not be limited to operating as described above when the system body 110 is oriented as shown in FIG. 2B.

It is noted that the orientation of the system body 110 in FIG. 2B is just an example, and it can be any orientation in practice. However, whenever there is a switch in the heights of the air opening 210, 212 relative to the ground surface, the rotational direction of the fan module 130 will be changed by the control module 160.

This embodiment can be applied to a hand-held device with single fan, in which the orientation of the hand-held device is typically changed on a frequent basis during operation. In such a device, if the fan module 130 always rotates in one direction, dust easily enters the system body 110. Therefore, by utilizing the orientation sensor 140 to detect the orientation of the system body 140 and accordingly changing the rotational direction of the fan module 130, dust stuck on the fin module 125 or within the fan module 130 can be loosened and blown out of the system body 110. In addition, if the fan module 130 always rotates in one direction, the air blown out from the air opening 210 or 212 may blow toward a user and cause discomfort. Hence, ensuring that air is always blown out from an upwardly facing or higher air opening 210 or 212 can solve such a problem.

In contrast to the embodiments of the electronic device 100 with a single fan system described above, the following will introduce embodiments of an electronic device with a double fan system. In practice, different types of fan modules are chosen to fit in differently sized electronic devices. For example, a fan module set in a smart mobile phone may have one fan or two small fans. Regardless of the type of fan module that is installed in an electronic device, the heat dissipation performance can be maintained through use of the concepts of this disclosure.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is another block diagram of the electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 3A. A description of aspects of this embodiment that are identical to aspects of the embodiments described in the foregoing paragraphs will not be repeated herein.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the system body 110 includes a casing 300, in which there are a first air opening 310 and a second air opening 312 disposed on two opposite sides of the casing 300. The heat pipe module 120 includes a first heat pipe 320 and a second heat pipe 322 respectively extending to the first air opening 310 and the second air opening 312 from two sides of the electronic component 170. The fan module 130 includes a first fan 330 and a second fan 332 respectively adjacent to the first air opening 310 and the second air opening 312. Also, the fin module 125 are separately adjacent to the first air opening 310 and the second air opening 312.

When the electronic device 100 is operating and the heights of two heat pipes 320, 322 relative to the ground surface are different, the heat dissipation performance of each heat pipe 320, 322 is changed and may be negatively affected. Therefore, the orientation sensor 140 disposed inside the system body 110 is needed. For example, when the height of the first air opening 310 is higher than the height of the second air opening 312 relative to the ground surface (as shown in FIG. 3B), because of the orientation of the second heat pipe 322, the liquid inside the second heat pipe 322 is unable to or only minimally flows upward to transfer the heat produced by the electronic component 170. Therefore, heat transfer must be performed primarily by the first heat pipe 320. In such a situation, to keep the first heat pipe 320 from overheating, the control module 160 controls the rotational speed of the first fan 330 and the second fan 332 according to the orientation-sensing signal generated by the orientation sensor 140, such that the rotational speed of the first fan 330 is faster than the rotational speed of the second fan 332 and the first heat pipe 320 can therefore be cooled down. It is noted that the operation of the control module 160 according to the orientation-sensing signal can be determined using a program.

In addition, by adjusting the rotational speed of the fans of a double fan system, the rising noise as a result of the increased rotational speed of the fan can also be avoided. For example, by accelerating the rotational speed of the first fan 330 and slowing down or turning off the second fan 332, or accelerating the rotational speed of the fan away from the user and slowing down or turning off the fan close to the user0, the noise problem can be avoided.

Furthermore, to avoid air being blown out from the air opening 310 or 312 facing the user and causing discomfort, the control module 160 can control the rotational direction of the first fan 330 and the second fan 332, such that air is not blown toward the user. For example, when the electronic device 100 is placed in the orientation shown in FIG. 3B, the air flows in through the second air opening 312 and is blown out from the first air opening 310. When the electronic device 100 is placed in the orientation shown in FIG. 3A, because both the air openings 310, 312 are not facing the user, no such problem is encountered. It is noted that the airflow directions mentioned herein are merely examples, and this invention should not be limited to operating to realize such airflow directions when in the different orientations as described in the above embodiments.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3B, the temperature sensor 150 is connected to the heat pipes 320, 322 of the heat pipe module 120 to detect the temperature thereof. When the height of the first air opening 310 is higher than the height of the second air opening 312 relative to the ground surface, the performance of the second heat pipe 322 is reduced as a result of the fact that the convection of the liquid inside the second heat pipe 322 is constrained by the orientation of the second heat pipe 322. In this situation, the first heat pipe 320 must be relied upon to transfer the heat generated by the electronic component 170, and as a result, the first heat pipe 320 may quickly overheat. Hence, when the temperature sensor 150 detects a temperature of the first heat pipe 320 that is higher than the standard temperature, the temperature sensor 150 outputs the temperature-sensing signal to the control module 160 such that the control module 160 adjusts the rotational speed of the first fan 330 adjacent to the first heat pipe 320 to a level that is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan 332 adjacent to the second heat pipe 332. As a result, the first heat pipe 320 is cooled. Also, the noise problem as mentioned in the above paragraphs can be solved through such operation.

In the embodiments of the present invention shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, degradation in heat dissipation performance may result when the convection of liquid inside the heat pipes 320, 322 is constrained by the orientation of the system body 110. Hence, by utilizing the orientation sensor 140 and the temperature sensor 150, the orientation of system body 110 or the temperature of heat pipes 320, 322 can be detected, and the rotational speed of both fans 330, 332 can be adjusted in a corresponding manner. Therefore, degradation in heat dissipation performance can be prevented, and the noise problem caused by an accelerated fan can also be avoided.

It is noted that the orientation of the system body 110 illustrated in FIG. 3B is just an example, and the system body 110 can be disposed in any orientation in practice. As long as the air openings 310, 312 are changed in height or the heights of two heat pipes 320, 322 are different, the fan module 330 is controlled by the control module 160 to change its rotational speed. Also, the disposition of the fans 330, 332 shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B is just an example, and in practice, it is necessary only that the fans 330, 332 be disposed on different sides of the electronic component 170. For example, the fans 330, 332 may be disposed on two diagonal corners of the system body 110, so that the heat dissipation from each side of the electronic component 170 can be efficient.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the system body 110 has a plurality of portions, and certain portions are movable. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of an electronic device 100 based on an embodiment of present invention, in which some elements of the electronic device are shown in block diagram form therewithin. FIG. 4B is another perspective view of the electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 4A. In this embodiment, another manner of controlling the fan module 130 is provided. The system body 110 includes a base 420 and a panel 410 pivoted to the base 420. As an example, such a configuration may be found in a laptop computer. Two adjacent sides of the base 420 have two air openings 430, 432 adjacent to the fan module 130. The orientation sensor 140 can be disposed on a movable component such as the panel 410 to detect orientation thereof. The heat pipe module 120, the fin module 125, the temperature sensor 150, the control module 160 and the electronic component 170 can be disposed in the base 420.

When the fan module 130 rotates, air flows through the two air openings 430, 432 in an airflow direction. When the panel 410 moves away from or approaches the base 420, the orientation sensor 140 outputs the orientation-sensing signal to the control module 160 that corresponds to such a change in orientation, and the control module accordingly changes the rotational direction of the fan module 130, so that the direction of the air flowing through the two air openings 430, 432 is changed.

For example, when the panel 410 and the base 420 are closed, the fan module 130 rotates in a clockwise direction such that the first air opening 430 acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening 432 acts as an air outlet vent. When the user opens the panel 410 and the panel 410 is positioned away from the base 420, the control module 160 controls the rotational direction of the fan module 130 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction based on the orientation-sensing signal, so that the second air opening 432 acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening 430 acts as an air outlet vent. In practice, there is no particular rotational direction of the fan module 130 when the panel 410 and the base 420 are closed or separated. The rotational direction of the fan module 130 can be determined using a program, and a person skilled in the art can design the program as desired, depending on the particular requirements of the electronic device.

By placing the orientation sensor 140 on the panel 410, the rotational direction of the fan module 130 can be changed depending on whether the panel 410 is open or closed, that is, the rotational direction of the fan module 130 can be changed at the point in time when the panel 410 is opened or closed. In this manner, dust stuck inside the fan module 130 or on the fin module 125 can be loosened and blown out.

On the other hand, the rotational direction of the fan module 130 can also be changed at a particular time using a program so as to remove the dust. For example, the rotational direction of the fan module 130 can be changed every 30 minutes for this purpose. However, if the user is using the electronic device 100, such a manner of operation may cause a reduction in heat dissipation performance and generate noise, and may further result in crashing of the electronic device 100. Hence, to change the rotational direction of the fan module 130 by opening or closing the panel 410 is still a preferable way.

In addition, although the electronic device 100 in this embodiment has a single fan system, in practice, this embodiment can be applied to an electronic device with a double fan system, such as the electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. For example, when the height of one air opening is higher than the other one relative to the ground surface, the performance of the heat pipe module 120 will be negatively affected because of the orientation of the system body 110. In such a situation, by utilizing the orientation sensor 140 and the temperature sensor 150 and adjusting the rotation of the fan module 130 accordingly, degradation in heat dissipation can thereby be avoided.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a temperature modulation method to control heat dissipation components under different orientations, so as to solve the problem of performance degradation of heat pipes caused by the orientation of a system body. FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a temperature modulation method 500 of the present invention. The temperature modulation method 500 can be applied to the electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 includes the system body 110, the heat pipe module 120 connected to the system body 110 and the fan module 130 disposed inside the system body 110. Details of these elements of the electronic device 100 have been specified above, and so a description in this respect will not be repeated herein.

The temperature modulation method 500 includes steps 510 to 540. In step 510, the electronic device 100 starts to be used. In step 520, the orientation of the system body 110 is detected, and an orientation-sensing signal is generated according to the orientation of the system body 110 or the change in the orientation of the system body 110. For example, detection is performed to determine if the system body 110 is in a flat or upright orientation or if there has been a change in the orientation of the system body 110 from a flat to an upright orientation, and a corresponding orientation-sensing signal is generated. In step 530, the temperature of the heat pipe module 120 is detected and a corresponding temperature-sensing signal is generated. Such detection is performed to prevent the heat pipe module 120 from overheating and to prevent performance degradation of the heat pipe module 120. In step 540, the rotational direction and the rotational speed of the fan module 130 are controlled according to the orientation-sensing signal and the temperature-sensing signal, so as to prevent performance degradation of the heat pipe module 120. It is noted that if step 540 does not result in favorable results (e.g., a reduction in the temperature of the heat pipe module 120), step 520 and/or step 530 may be repeated together with step 540 until heat dissipation is fully realized.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling the rotation of the fan module 130 based on the orientation-sensing signal includes, when the height of the first air opening 210 is higher than the second air opening 212 relative to the ground surface, the control module 160 controlling the fan module 130 to rotate in a first direction (such as a clockwise direction), such that the second air opening 212 acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening 210 acts as an air outlet vent. On the other hand, when the height of the second air opening 212 relative to the ground surface is higher than the first air opening 210, the control module 160 controls the fan module 130 to rotate in a second direction (such as a counterclockwise direction) opposite the first direction, such that the first air opening 210 acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening 212 acts as an air outlet vent. This embodiment can be applied to an electronic device with a single fan system.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling the rotation of the fan module 130 based on the orientation-sensing signal includes, when the orientation of the system body 110 is changed so that the height of the first air opening 310 is higher than the second air opening 312 relative to the ground surface, the rotational speed of the fan module 130 is controlled, such that the rotational speed of the first fan 330 adjacent to the first air opening 310 is faster than the rotational speed of the second fan 332 adjacent to the second air opening 312. This embodiment can be applied to electronic devices with a double fan system.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of controlling the rotation of the fan module 130 based on the temperature-sensing signal includes, when the height of the first air opening 310 relative to the ground surface is higher than the second air opening 312, and when the temperature of the heat pipe 320 adjacent to the first air opening 310 exceeds the temperature standard, the rotational speed of the fan module 130 is controlled based on the temperature-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan 330 adjacent to the heat pipe 320 is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan 332 away from the heat pipe 320. In other words, by detecting the temperature of the heat pipe 320, the rotation of the fan module 130 can be adjusted to maintain heat dissipation performance under different conditions.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the system body 110 includes a base 420 and a panel 410 pivoted on the base 420. With this embodiment, the step of controlling the rotation of the fan module 130 based on the orientation-sensing signal includes controlling the fan module 130 to rotate in a first direction based on the orientation-sensing signal, such that the first air opening 430 of the system body 110 acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening 432 of the system body 110 acts as an air outlet vent. When the panel 410 is close to or is away from the base 420, the control module 160 controls the fan module 130 to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction based on the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening 432 of the system body 110 acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening 430 of the system body 110 acts as an air outlet vent. This embodiment can be applied to electronic devices with one or more movable components such as laptop computers.

In summary, the embodiments of the present invention have some advantages as follows:

1. By detecting the temperature of the heat pipe module with the temperature sensor, the rotational speed of the fan module can be adjusted when heat pipe module is overheated, and the heat dissipation performance can therefore be maintained. Also, by adjusting the rotational speed of the fan module, the problems associated with noise and dust can be solved.

2. By detecting the orientation of the system body with the orientation sensor, the rotational speed of the fan module can be adjusted through use of a program when the orientation of the system body is changed, and the heat dissipation performance can therefore be maintained.

3. There are two sensors in the electronic device such that if one of the sensors malfunctions, the other one can still work to maintain the heat dissipation performance.

4. The temperature modulation method in the above embodiments of the present invention can be applied to an electronic device with any type of fan module configuration.

The readers attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with his specification and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, 6th paragraph. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, 6th paragraph. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a system body, comprising: an electronic component; a heat pipe module connected to the electronic component; a fan module disposed in the system body; an orientation sensor for detecting an orientation of the system body and outputting an orientation-sensing signal based on the orientation; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the heat pipe module and outputting a temperature-sensing signal based on the temperature; and a control module for controlling rotation of the fan module according to at least one of the orientation-sensing signal and the temperature-sensing signal.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the system body comprises a casing, and the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening disposed on two adjacent sides of the casing; when the first air opening is higher than the second air opening, the control module controls the fan module to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening acts as an air outlet vent; when the second air opening is higher than the first air opening, the control module controls the fan module to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the first air opening acts as the air intake vent and the second air opening acts as the air outlet vent.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the system body comprises a casing, the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening on two opposite sides, the heat pipe module comprises a first heat pipe and a second heat pipe which respectively extend from two sides of the electronic component to the first air opening and the second air opening, and the fan module comprises a first fan and a second fan adjacent to the first air opening and the second air opening respectively; when the casing is turned so that the first air opening is higher than the second air opening, the control module controls a rotational speed of the first fan and a rotational speed of the second fan according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the system body comprises a casing, the casing has a first air opening and a second air opening on two opposite sides, the heat pipe module comprises a first heat pipe and a second heat pipe which extend from two sides of the electronic component to the first air opening and the second air opening respectively, and the fan module comprises a first fan and a second fan respectively adjacent to the first air opening and the second air opening; when the first air opening is higher than the second air opening and the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the first heat pipe is higher than a temperature standard so that the temperature sensor outputs the temperature-sensing signal, the control module controls a rotational speed of the first fan and a rotational speed of the second fan according to the temperature-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the system body further comprises a base and a panel pivoted to the base, two adjacent sides of the base have two air openings adjacent to the fan module, and the fan module operates so that air flows through the two air openings in a first airflow direction; when the panel is away from or approaches the base, the control module changes a rotational direction of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal so that air flows through the two air openings in a second airflow direction opposite to the first airflow direction.
 6. A temperature modulation method for an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a system body, a heat pipe module connected to the system body and a fan module disposed in the system body, the temperature modulation method comprising: detecting an orientation of the system body and generating an orientation-sensing signal based on the orientation; detecting a temperature of the heat pipe module and generating a temperature-sensing signal based on the temperature; and controlling rotation of the fan module according to at least one of the orientation-sensing signal and the temperature-sensing signal.
 7. The temperature modulation method of claim 6, wherein the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal comprises: controlling the fan module to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal when a first air opening of the system body is higher than a second air opening of the system body, such that the second air opening acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening acts as an air outlet vent; and when the second air opening is higher than the first air opening, controlling the fan module to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the first air opening acts as an air intake vent and the second air opening acts as an air outlet vent.
 8. The temperature modulation method of claim 6, wherein the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal comprises: controlling a rotational speed of the fan module such that a rotational speed of a first fan of the fan module adjacent to a first air opening is higher than a rotational speed of a second fan of the fan module adjacent to a second air opening when the system body is turned such that the first air opening of the system body is higher than the second air opening of the system body.
 9. The temperature modulation method of claim 6, wherein the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the temperature-sensing signal comprises: controlling a rotational speed of a first fan of the fan module and a rotational speed of a second fan of the fan module according to the temperature-sensing signal, such that the rotational speed of the first fan adjacent to a heat pipe is higher than the rotational speed of the second fan away from the heat pipe when a first air opening of the system body adjacent to the first fan is higher than a second air opening of the system body adjacent to the second fan and when a temperature of the heat pipe is higher than a temperature standard.
 10. The temperature modulation method of claim 6, wherein the system body comprises a base and a panel pivoted to the base, and the step of controlling rotation of the fan module according to the orientation-sensing signal comprises: controlling the fan module to rotate in a first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal such that a first air opening of the system body acts as an air intake vent and a second air opening of the system body acts as an air outlet vent; and when the panel is away from or approaches the base, controlling the fan module to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction according to the orientation-sensing signal, such that the second air opening of the system body acts as an air intake vent and the first air opening of the system body acts as an air outlet vent. 